Device for accommodating cartridge storage device and disk recording or playback apparatus

ABSTRACT

A device for accommodating cartridge, wherein a holder allowing a cartridge to be inserted therein is pivotally supported on a chassis with the holder being biased in a closing direction, an upper door is pivotally supported at the free end portion of the holder, a first inclined surface coming in contact with the inserted cartridge and kickout piece coming in contact with the chassis when the holder rises are provided on the upper door, the upper door is biased by a spring in such a direction that a contact face closes the opening of the holder, and the upper door moves between a door opening position in which the cartridge pushes the contact face when the cartridge is inserted so as to expose the opening of the holder and the kickout piece pushes the chassis so as to lift the holder against the biasing force of a spring and a door closing position in which, as the cartridge is further inserted, the cartridge returns in such a direction that the contact face closes the opening after coming out of the contact face so as to permit descent of the holder.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a device for accommodating a cartridgehaving enclosed therein a disk serving as a recording medium, and moreparticularly to a disk recording or playback apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

FIG. 16 shows a cartridge 6 already proposed for enclosing therein adisk 60 serving as a recording medium. The cartridge 6 is provided onits upper wall with a slidable shutter 63, which partly exposes the disk60 when opened. Positioning bores 61, 62 are formed in the lower wall ofthe cartridge 6.

FIG. 17 is a side elevation of an apparatus for recording signals on orreproducing signals from the disk 60 serving as a recording medium. Inthe following description, the direction in which the cartridge isinserted into the apparatus will be referred to as “front,” and thedirection in which it is ejected as “rear.”

A holder 4 for placing the cartridge 6 therein has its base end pivotedas at 4 a to one end of a chassis 5 having a turntable 7 mountedthereon. Provided between the holder 4 and the chassis 5 is a latchmechanism (not shown) for holding the holder 4 closed. Arranged at eachof the front and rear ends of the chassis 5 are positioning pins 52, 52fittable into the positioning bores 61, 62 of the cartridge 6. Each ofthe positioning pins 52 comprises a solid cylindrical prop 58 forsupporting the bottom of the cartridge 6, and a conical guide projection59 projecting upward from the top of the prop 58. The peripheral wallportions defining the positioning bores 61, 62 of the cartridge 6descend while being guide by the respective projections 59 and rest onthe tops of the props 58.

The holder 4 has an open free end, through which the cartridge 6 isinserted. The pivot 4 a of the holder 4 has a torsion spring 49 fittedtherearound for biasing the holder 4 upward. A rod 47 projecting from aside wall of the holder 4 is engaged in an upper end of a circular-arcslit 48 formed in a side wall of the chassis 5 to prevent the holder 4from rising to a higher position.

When signals are to be recorded or reproduced, the cartridge 6 is firstmanually inserted into the holder 4 in a raised position. Thepositioning bores 61, 62 of the cartridge 6 are opposed to thepositioning pins 52, 52. The holder 4 is then pivotally moved down byhand. The positioning bores 61, 62 are fitted around the guideprojections 59 of the positioning pins 52, 52, the disk 60 is placed onthe turntable 7, and signals are recorded or reproduced.

When signals are to be recorded or reproduced by positioning thecartridge 6 as opposed to the turntable 7, the above apparatus requiresinsertion of the cartridge 6 into the holder 7 and pushing of the holder4 downward, namely, two manual movements. The present applicant hasconceived the idea of making the apparatus more convenient to use byreducing this procedure to a single manual movement.

An object of the present invention is to position the cartridge asopposed to the turntable by a single manual movement.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

A holder 4 has a spring attached to a base end thereof for biasing theholder 4 in a closing direction and a door 1 pivoted as at 1 a to a freeend thereof. The door 1 has a contact face positioned at a cartridgeejecting side of the pivot 1 a and inclined with respect to thedirection of insertion of a cartridge, and a kickout piece 12 positionedat a cartridge inserting side of the pivot 1 a and movable into contactwith a chassis 5 when the holder 4 is raised. The door 1 is biased by aspring in a direction for the contact face to close an opening of theholder 4. The door 1 is movable between an opened position in which thecontact face is pushed by the cartridge 6 to expose the opening of theholder 4 when the cartridge 6 is inserted, and the kickout piece 12pushes the chassis 5 to lift the holder 4 against the biasing force ofthe spring and a closed position in which the contact face returns in adirection to close the opening after the contact face is released fromthe cartridge 6 as the cartridge 6 is further inserted to permit descentof the holder 4.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disk recording or playback apparatus.

FIG. 2A is a side elevation of an upper door, and FIG. 2B is a plan viewof the upper door.

FIG. 3A is a side elevation of a lower door, and FIG. 3B is a plan viewof the lower door.

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a holder and a chassis.

FIG. 5 is an exploded plan view of the holder, a slide piece and a pushlever.

FIG. 6 includes views in section taken along a plane containing the lineB—B of FIG. 4 and along a plane containing the line C—C of FIG. 4 andshowing the holder and the chassis, respectively.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the chassis and a cartridge.

FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C are side elevations showing the cartridge when it isto be inserted into the holder.

FIGS. 9A and 9B are plan views showing the movement of the slide pieceand the push lever when the cartridge is inserted.

FIGS. 10A and 10B are plan views showing the movement of the slide pieceand the push lever when the cartridge is inserted.

FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C are side elevations showing the holder while itis being opened.

FIG. 12 is a rear view of a frame.

FIG. 13 is a side elevation showing components in the vicinity of apush-up lever.

FIGS. 14A, 14B and 14C are side elevations showing an ejecting movement.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are simplified side elevations showing the holder asopened, FIG. 15A showing a first opened position, FIG. 15B showing asecond opened position.

FIG. 16 is a plan view of the cartridge.

FIG. 17 is a side elevation of a conventional disk recording or playbackapparatus.

BEST MODE OF CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

(Brief Description of the Entire Apparatus)

An embodiment of the invention will be described below in detail withreference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a disk recording or playback apparatus.As in the prior art, a disk 60 is enclosed in a cartridge 6, which haspositioning bores 61, 62 which are open in the lower surface of thecartridge. The front bore 61 is a slot elongated forward or rearward.The rear bore 62 is circular.

The apparatus is generally in the form of a rectangular parallelepipedand comprises a lower case 30 and an upper case 3 attached theretoopenably. The apparatus of this type is termed the slot-in type and isoften carried as placed in a pocket of the user's jacket, so that theapparatus has a generally rectangular parallelepipedal shape and is madeeasy to place into the pocket.

A holder 4 has an open rear end and is provided in and attached to theupper case 3 shown in FIG. 1, and a chassis 5 is provided in andattached to the lower case 30. The holder 4 and the chassis 5 are fixedat their front ends to the upper case 3 and the lower case 30,respectively. The holder 4 is pivoted to the front end of the chassis 5as at 4 a. The holder 4 is biased toward a closing direction by atorsion spring 49 provided in the vicinity of the pivot 4 a.

A space is provided between the right side wall of the holder 4 and theupper case 3, and between the right side wall of the chassis 5 and thelower case 30. A holder lock mechanism and unlocking mechanism areprovided in the respective spaces as will be described later. The uppercase 3 has an open rear end, and is inwardly bent at a right side wallrear end portion to provide a horizontal plate 31.

The apparatus according to the present embodiment is characterized by acartridge inserting and ejecting movements as will be described belowbriefly. When the cartridge is inserted, an upper door 1 of the uppercase 1 is pivotally moved to slightly open the holder 4 as shown in FIG.8C. When the cartridge 6 is further inserted, the holder 4 is opened intwo steps, i.e., to a first and a second opened position, as shown inFIGS. 11A, 11B and then closed as seen in FIG. 11C. When the cartridgeis to be ejected, an ejecting lever 100 shown in FIG. 12 is pivotallymoved to forcibly raise the holder 4, and the cartridge 6 is taken outof the holder 4.

(Brief Description of Cartridge Inserting-Ejecting Mechanism)

The upper door 1 which is laterally elongated for covering the rear-endopening of the holder 4 shown in FIG. 1 is pivoted to the free end ofthe holder 4 as at 1 a. The pivot 1 a is disposed inwardly of the door1. A lower door 2 opposed to the upper door 1 is pivoted as at 2 a tothe chassis 5. The two doors 1, 2 are made from a material (such assynthetic resin) having a smooth surface and suitable rigidity so as notto deface the cartridge 6 when an end of the cartridge 6 comes intocontact therewith, and are biased toward a closing direction byrespective torsion springs (not shown) fitted around the pivots 1 a, 2a.

FIG. 2A is a side elevation of the upper door 1, FIG. 2B is a plan viewof the upper door 1, FIG. 3A is a side elevation of the lower door 2,and FIG. 3B is a plan view of the lower door 2. The upper door 1comprises an eaves portion 10 provided at opposite sides thereof withplate pieces 11, 11 integrally therewith. Each plate piece 11 has a hole13 providing the pivot on the holder 4. The plate piece 11 extendsforward beyond the hole 13 and is made into a kickout piece 12. Theeaves portion 10 has a lower surface providing a fist slope 14 which isinclined downward along the cartridge inserting direction as will bedescribed later. The plate piece 11 has a latch pin 15 projectingoutward as positioned between the hole 13 and the eaves portion 10. Thehole 13 is positioned at a lower level than the lower end of the slope14.

The lower door 2 comprises a lock pawl 20 engageable with the latch pin15, a projection 21 extending obliquely downward from the lower end ofthe lock pawl 20 along the cartridge ejecting direction, and a camfollower 23 extending downward from the vicinity of the base end of theprojection 21, these portions 20, 21 and 23 being formed integrally. Theprojection 21 has a rear end providing a second slope 22. A pin 24serving as the pivot 2 a on the chassis 5 projects outward from thelower end of the lock pawl 20.

(Detailed Description of the Holder and Chassis)

FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of the holder 4 and the chassis5. The present apparatus is provided with a cell 700 in the form of aplate, more specifically a Ni—Cd cell. The chassis 5 comprises mainchassis body 50 made from a synthetic resin, and a cell holder 51 madefrom a metal plate by bending and disposed in the rear of the body 50.The cell holder 51 has a frame 56 projecting from the right side of asupport plate 55 which is positioned in substantially the same plane asthe upper surface of the main chassis body 50 (see FIG. 12). The cell700 is placed below the support plate 55 and inside the frame 56 andheld between a rear wall of the frame 56 and a rear wall of the chassisbody 50.

A turntable 7 is mounted on the main chassis body 50, and a pickup 70for projecting a beam on the disk is movable toward and away from theturntable 7. The front end of the chassis body 50 is provided at itsopposite sides with first and second bearing protrusions 53, 54 each inthe form of a rod for supporting the front end of the cartridge 6. Thesupport plate 55 has provided thereon a positioning pin 52 fittable intothe positioning bore 62 in the rear end of the cartridge 6. The presentembodiment has only one positioning pin 52 for supporting the rear endof the cartridge 6.

The first and second bearing protrusions 53, 54 and a prop 58 of thepositioning pin 52 support the lower wall of the cartridge 6, and theturntable 7 supports the disk 60 within the cartridge 6. Accordingly,the turntable 7 is higher than the first and second bearing protrusions53, 54 and the prop 58.

If both the main chassis body 50 and the cell holder 51 are made from ametal plate, the chassis 5 becomes heavier in its entirety. Further thedrawing work needed for providing the first and second bearingprotrusions 53, 54 gives strain to the main chassis body 50. Although itappears possible to outsert the main chassis body 50 to provide thefirst and second bearing protrusions 53, 54, this entails an increasedcost.

On the other hand, if both the main chassis body 50 and the cell holder51 are made from synthetic resin, the chassis 5 becomes lightweight inits entirety, but the cell holder 51 diminishes in strength. The cellholder 51 for holding the cell 700 readily deforms when subjected to animpact from outside, permitting the cell 700 to fall off the holder. Thecell holder 51 is therefore made from a metal plate, and the mainchassis body 50 from synthetic resin, to give the cell holder 51increased rigidity and the chassis 5 a reduced weight in its entirety.

A support bracket 200 extending forward or rearward is providedalongside both the side walls of the main chassis body 50 and the cellholder 51 of FIG. 4, and a slide plate 300 slidable forward or rearwardis attached to the support bracket 200.

The support bracket 200 has a vertical plate 210 positioned at a rearend portion thereof and inwardly bent, a lift slope 220 positioned tothe front of the vertical plate 210 and slanting forwardly upward, and aguide groove 230 positioned to the front of the lift slope 220 andrecessed downward.

The slide plate 300 is biased rearward by a spring 340 and has aninwardly bent rear end portion providing a driven plate 310. The slideplate 300 is provided, to the rear of the lengthwise midportion thereofwith, a slanting edge 320 and has a hook 330 positioned in front of theslanting edge 320 and projecting upward for providing a holder lockmechanism. As will be described later, the slide plate 300 ismanipulated when the cartridge 6 is to be ejected.

A push-up lever 400 is interposed between the slide plate 300 and thesupport bracket 200. The push-up lever 400 has a base end supported by apivot 410 on the support bracket 200. A torsion spring (not shown) isfitted around the pivot 410 for biasing the lever 400 downward, and apin 420 projecting from the push-up lever 400 is in contact with theslating edge 320 of the slide plate 300. As will be described later, thepush-up lever 400 pushes up the horizontal plate 31 of the upper case 3when the cartridge 6 is ejected.

The pin 24 (see FIG. 3B) on the lower door 2 is fitted in a hole (notshown) formed in a small support piece 500 projecting from the side wallof the chassis 5 to provide the pivot 2 a for the lower door 2.

The chassis 5 is provided on the lower surface thereof with the ejectinglever 100 pivotally movable in a horizontal plane and adapted to contactthe slide plate 300. When the cartridge 6 is to be ejected from theholder 4, the ejecting lever 100 is manually turned as will be describedlater to push the slide plate 300 forward. Thus, the ejecting lever 100provides a holder unlocking mechanism.

A slide piece 9 made from a metal plate by bending is provided on theupper surface of the holder 4 forwardly or rearwardly movably and isprovided thereon with a push lever 8 having a base end pivoted to theholder 4 as at 8 a.

FIG. 5 is an exploded plan view of the holder 4, slide piece 9 and pushlever 8. The holder 4 has an aperture 40 formed in its upper wall, andthe peripheral portion defining the aperture has four support pins 41,41, 41, 41. The slide piece 9 has four slits 92, 92, 92, 92 extendingforward or rearward for the support pins 41, 41, 41, 41 to fit inrespectively, and a fitting pin 90 a its rear end.

Lugs 93, 93 extend downward from opposite sides of the slide piece 9,with a guide pin 91 projecting outward from each lug 93.

A retaining pin 42 is mounted on the holder 4 between the support pins41, 41 on the right side and fitted in a hole 80 formed in one end ofthe push lever 8, providing the pivot 8 a for the lever 8. The pushlever 8 is biased counterclockwise by a tension spring 86 extendingbetween the lever 8 and the holder 4.

The push lever 8 has a free end bent downward to provide a pushablepiece 81, which extends through the aperture 40 of the holder 4 toproject into the path of movement of the cartridge 6. The push lever 8further has a cam slot 82 for the fitting pin 90 on the holder 4 to fitin. The cam slot 82 comprises a first slanting slit 83 inclined withrespect to the cartridge inserting direction, a circular-are slit 84centered about the center of the hole 80, and a second slanting slit 85extending from one end of the slit 84 toward the hole 80.

The right side wall of the holder 4 has an opening 43, and a platespring 600 having a bent portion 610 movable into the holder 4 isattached to the holder right side wall at a portion thereof close to anend of the opening 43. The distance L from the bent portion 610 to theleft side wall of the holder 4 shown in FIG. 5 is approximately equal tothe width of the cartridge 6. A protrusion (not shown) to be in contactwith a side wall of the cartridge 6 may be provided on the inner side ofthe left side wall holder 4.

When inserted into the holder 4, the cartridge 6 is restrained fromshaking laterally by being held between the left side wall of the holder4 and the bent portion 610 of the plate spring 600. Stated morespecifically, the rear positioning bore 62 is fitted around thecorresponding positioning pin 52 to restrain the inserted cartridge 6from backlashing forward or rearward, and the front end portion of theholder 4 restrains the cartridge 6 from lateral backlashing.

With reference to FIG. 7, the cartridge 6 has a front portion around thepositioning bore 61 and in contact with the second bearing protrusion54, and a front left portion supported by the first bearing protrusion53. In this respect, the present apparatus differs from the conventionaldevice wherein the front and rear end portions of the cartridge 6 fit tothe two positioning pins 52, 52. This feature reduces the amount towhich the holder 4 is opened.

FIG. 6 is a view showing the holder 4 as covered with the upper case 3and in section along a plane containing the line B—B in FIG. 4, and thechassis 5 as covered with the lower case 30 and in section along a planecontaining the line C—C in FIG. 4. A pin 32 inwardly extends from theright wall of the upper case 3 and has an inner end inserted through thehole 13 in the upper door 1 and fitting into the holder 4, thusproviding the pivot 1 a for the upper door 1.

Below the upper door 1, a bearing plate 57 projects inward from theframe 56. The kickout piece 12 of the upper door 1 turns in contact withthe bearing plate 57 to open the upper case 3 as will be describedlater. There is an open clearance between the vertical plate 210 and thebearing plate 57, with the kickout piece 12 of the door 1 positioned inthis clearance as will be described later.

(Opening Movement of the Doors and Holder)

FIGS. 8A, 8B and 8C are side elevations showing the holder 4 in theupper case 3 when the cartridge 6 is about to be inserted thereinto.FIGS. 9A, 9B, 10A and 10B are plan views showing the movement of theslide piece 9 and the push lever 8 during the insertion of thecartridge. The torsion spring 49 is not shown in FIGS. 9A, 9B, 10A and10B.

With reference to FIG. 8B, when the cartridge is inserted, the upperdoor 1 is first opened, permitting the advance of the cartridge 6 intothe holder 4. The holder 4 and the upper case 3 are then opened to thefirst opened position. The holder 4 and the upper case 3 aresubsequently opened to the second opened position and thereafter closed.The holder 4 is opened in two steps for the reason given later.

Standby State

In a standby state before the insertion of the cartridge 6, the lockpawl 20 of the lower door 2 is in engagement with the latch pin 15 ofthe upper door 1 as shown in FIG. 8A, preventing the upper door 1 fromopening inadvertently. The kickout piece 12 of the upper door 1 is incontact with the bearing plate 57 of the chassis 1.

With reference to FIG. 9A, the slide piece 9 is in the rearmostposition, and the fitting pin 90 on the slide piece 9 is fitted in theleft end of the first slanting slit 83. As previously stated, thepushable piece 81 of the push lever 8 projects into the path of movementof the cartridge 6 through the aperture 40 of the holder 4.

Insertion of the Cartridge

(First Opened Position of the Holder)

When the holder 4 is inserted into the cartridge 6 as seen in FIG. 8B,the front end of the cartridge 6 initially comes into contact with thesecond slope 22 of the lower door 2 below the pivot 2 a. The lower door2 is turned counterclockwise about the pivot 2 a against the force ofspring, releasing the lock pawl 20 from the latch pin 15. The front endof the cartridge 6 in contact with the second slope 22 rises along thisslope, pushing the first slop 14 of the upper door 1.

Since the pivot 1 a of the upper door 1 is positioned below the firstslope 14, the upper door 1 pivotally moves clockwise about the pivot 1 aas shown in FIG. 8C. However, the kickout piece 12 of the upper door 1is in contact with the bearing plate 57 of the chassis 5 and thereforekicks the plate 57 to thereby open the holder 4. Since the upper door 1rises with the holder 4, the latch pin 15 moves out of path of pivotalmovement of the lock pawl 20. The cartridge 6 is inserted into theholder 4 being opened, moving upward along the second slope 22, so thatthe lower door 1 is pushed on the second slope 22 at the upper side ofthe pivot 2 a and returned to the original position by the torsionspring around the pivot 2 a.

FIGS. 11A, 11B and 11C are side elevations showing how the holder 4 isopened, with the ejecting lever 100, upper case 3 and lower case 30omitted. FIG. 11A shows the holder 4 as slightly opened from the stateshown in the side elevation of FIG. 8C. The upper door 1 is opened, withthe lower end of the first slope 14 in contact with the upper surface ofthe cartridge 6. This position will be termed the “first openedposition” of the holder and is also an opened position of the upper door1.

(Second Opened Position of the Holder)

When the cartridge 6 is further inserted into the holder 4, the frontend of the cartridge 6 pushes the pushable piece 81 of the push lever 8as shown in FIG. 9B, rotating the lever 8 clockwise about the pivot 8 aagainst the tension spring 86. The side edge defining the first slantingslit 83 pushes the fitting pin 90 forward to advance the slide piece 9.

As shown in FIG. 11B, the advance of the slide piece 9 moves the guidepin 91 along the lift slope 220 of the support bracket 200, moving theholder 4 upward about the pivot 4 a. The end of the kickout piece 12 ofthe upper door 1 comes into contact with the vertical plate 210 of thesupport bracket 200, and the upper door 1 further turns clockwise,whereby the lower end of the first slope 14 of the upper door 1 movesout of contact with the upper wall of the cartridge 6. Although theupper door 1 is biased toward the closing direction by the spring, thefrictional force due to the force of the spring does not act on thecartridge 6. The holder 1 is opened to a great extent in this positionthan in the first opened position, and this position will be referred toas the “second opened position” of the holder.

When the cartridge 6 is further pushed in from the second openedposition, the cartridge 6 rotates the push lever 8 further clockwise asseen in FIG. 10A. With the pin 90 fitting in the circular-arc slit 84,however, the slide piece 9 does not advance despite the rotation of thelever 8, holding the holder 4 in its second opened position.

When the cartridge 6 is pushed in to the final position, the pin 90moves out of the circular-arc slit 84 and fits into the second slantingslit 85 as shown in FIG. 10B. The edge of the slitted portion 85 pushesthe pin 90 forward to advance the slide piece 9.

When the slide piece 9 advances after the holder 4 has reached thesecond opened position, the guide pin 91 of the holder 4 is opposed tothe upper opening of the guide groove 230. With the holder 4 biaseddownward by the torsion spring 49, the guide pin 91 is moved down thegroove 230 as shown in FIG. 1C. The guide pin 91 comes into contact withthe upper edge of the hook 330, temporarily pushing the slide plate 300forward, but upon the guide pin 91 moving past the hook 330, the slideplate 300 is returned by the spring 340, causing the hook 330 to engagethe guide pin 91. The holder 4 is locked to the chassis 5.

With the descent of the holder 4, the kickout piece 12 of the upper door1 moves out of contact with the vertical plate 210, permitting the upperdoor 1 to return to the original position for closing as shown in FIG.11C. This position will be referred to as a “closed position” of thedoor. Thus, the upper door pivotally moves between the open position andthe closed position.

Signals are recorded or reproduced with the cartridge 6 placed on theturntable 7 as shown in FIG. 10B. Since the guide pin 9 is positioned inthe guide groove 230 as shown in FIG. 11C, restraining the holder 4 frombacklashing forward or rearward, the push lever 8 remains immovable inengagement with the holder 4.

(Reason for Opening the Holder in Two Steps)

The holder 4 is opened in two steps, i.e., to the first and secondopened positions, for the following reason.

FIGS. 15A and 15B are simplified side elevations showing the holder 4 inthe respective opened positions, FIG. 15A showing the first openedposition, FIG. 15B showing the second opened position.

When opened to the first opened position, the holder 4 is opened untilthe lower wall of the cartridge 6 is moved up beyond the positioning pin52 at the rear end of the chassis 5. The turntable 7 has a greaterheight than the prop 58 of the positioning pin 52 as previously stated,and even if inserted into the holder 4 in the first opened position, thecartridge 6 fails to move over the turntable 7.

When the holder 4 is opened to the second opened position, the lowerwall of the cartridge 6 is positioned over the turntable 7. When thecartridge 6 so positioned is pushed in, the lower wall of front end ofthe cartridge 6 is opposed to the second bearing protrusion 54.

Thus the holder 4 is slightly opened when the cartridge 6 is initiallyinserted and is thereafter opened greatly. If the holder 4 is opened tothe second opened position in the initial stage of opening of thecartridge 6, the period of time the holder 4 is open greatly is long,consequently increasing the likelihood of exposing the chassis 5 to dustor like extraneous matter. Since signals are recorded on the disk 60within the cartridge at a high density, deposition of dust or the likethereon is likely to entail an error in operation.

Since the duration during which the holder 4 is opened greatly isshortened according to the present embodiment, this diminishes thelikelihood of exposing the chassis 5 to dust or like extraneous matterto thereby obviates an erroneous operation due to ingress of dust or thelike.

(Technical Advantage in Inserting the Cartridge)

According to the present embodiment, the cartridge 6 is prevented frombacklashing laterally by the holder 4, so that the second bearingprotrusion 54 disposed on the chassis 5 at the front end thereof isprovided with no guide projection 59 (see FIG. 17). Accordingly, thesecond bearing protrusion 54 has a smaller height than the positioningpin 52.

With the prior art, the holder 4 needs to be opened to such an extentthat the cartridge 6 is moved over the positioning pin 52 at the frontend of the chassis 5 as shown in FIG. 17, whereas according to thepresent embodiment, the holder 4 needs to be opened to an extentpermitting the cartridge 6 to move over the second bearing protrusion54, such that the amount of opening is smaller. This also serves topreclude ingress of dust or the like. The apparatus of the typedescribed will be used in a narrow space as in the pocket of a coat orjacket, so that the smaller amount of opening of the holder 4 rendersthe apparatus more convenient to use.

A clearance F is provided between the side wall of the cartridge and theouter periphery of the disk 60 as shown in FIG. 16, whereas there islittle or no clearance between opposite side walls of the holder 4 andopposite side walls of the cartridge 6. Accordingly, in inserting thecartridge 6 into the holder 4, the disk 60 will laterally shift by onlythe clearance F even if the chassis 5 is shaky. Thus the disk 60 willbacklash only in corresponding relation with the clearance F. Thisrenders the disk 60 easy to place on the turntable 7.

Since there is little or no clearance between opposite side walls of theholder 4 and the opposite side walls of the cartridge 6 as loadedtherein, the outer periphery of the disk 60 is unlikely to come intocontact with the side walls of the cartridge 6.

Before the holder 4 is closed via the first opened position and thesecond opened position, the upper door 1 comes into contact with thevertical plate 210, and the lower end of the first slope 14 is moved outof contact with the upper surface of the cartridge 6. since the upperdoor 1 is biased in the closing direction by a spring, the frictionalforce of the upper door 1 is not exerted on the cartridge 6. Thecartridge 6 is therefore subjected only to the pressure load by the pushlever 8, hence a reduced load on the cartridge 6 during insertion.

(Cartridge Ejecting Mechanism)

FIG. 12 is a rear view of the frame 56 of the chassis 5, and FIG. 13 isa side elevation of the vicinity of the push-up lever 400. The ejectinglever 100 is pivoted to one end of the frame 56 as at 100 a, positionedbelow the lower door 2 and biased counterclockwise by a spring (notshown). The ejecting lever 100 has an upward protuberance 110, which hasa side face serving as a cam face 120 and positioned in the vicinity ofthe cam follower 23 projecting from the lower door 2.

Ejecting Movement

The ejecting lever 100 has one end providing a pushing projection 130 tobe contacted with the driven plate 310 of the slide plate 300. When theejecting lever 100 shown in FIG. 12 is turned clockwise (the direction Xin FIG. 12) by hand, the pushing projection 130 pushes the driven plate310, pushing the slide plate 300 forward against the force of the spring340. The cam face 120 pushes the cam follower 23, moving the lower door2 counterclockwise around the pivot 2 a as shown in FIG. 13 to unlockthe upper door 1 from the lower door 2.

FIGS. 14A, 14B and 14C are side elevations showing the ejectingmovement. The upper case 3 and the chassis 5 are indicated in chainlines. With reference to FIG. 14A, the advance of the slide plate 300releases the hook 330 from the guide pin 91, permitting the rise of theholder 4.

The slanting edge 320 of the slide plate 300 pushes the pin 420 on thepush-up lever 400, pivotally moving the lever 400 upward. The lever 400kicks up the horizontal plate 31 of the upper case 3 with a free endthereof. Since the upper door 1 is unlocked from the lower door 2, theupper case 3 is movable about the pivot 4 a. The upper case 3 movesupward against the torsion spring 49. The guide pin 91 is released fromthe guide groove 230.

With the guide pin 91 moved out of the guide groove 230, the slide piece9 is allowed to slidingly move rearward. Since the push lever 8 isbiased by the tension spring 86 (see FIG. 10B), the cartridge 6 and theslide piece 9 in engagement with the push lever 8 move rearward. Thefitting pin 90 on the slide piece 9 shown in FIG. 10B moves out of thesecond slanting slit 85, moves through the circular-arc slit 84 andreaches the position shown in FIG. 9B, i.e., the second opened positionof the holder 4. As seen in FIG. 11B, the guide pin 91 on the slidepiece 9 comes into contact with the lift slope 220 of the supportbracket 200. The upper door 1 is opened by the contact of the end of thekickout piece 12 with the vertical plate 210 to open the path ofmovement of the cartridge 6, which is partly discharged from the holder4.

When released from the hand, the ejecting lever 100 returns to theoriginal position, and the lower door 2 also returns as shown in FIG.14B. The slide plate 300 is moved rearward by the spring 340, and thepush-up lever 400 returns to the original position with the pin 420released from the slide piece 9.

The slide piece 9 further retracts to the position shown in FIG. 9A. Theguide pin 91 on the slide piece 9 moves rearward on the lift slope 220of the support bracket 200, permitting the descent of the holder 4.

The cartridge 6 is removed form the holder 4 by hand. The holder 4 ismoved down by the torsion spring 49. With the vertical plate 210 movedout of contact with the kickout piece 12 of the upper door 1, the upperdoor 1 pivotally moves to close the rear-end opening of the holder 4 asseen in FIG. 14C. The upper case 3 and the holder 4 descend, and thelatch pin 15 of the upper door 1 comes into contact with the end of thelock pawl 20, temporarily moving the lower door 2 counterclockwise, butupon moving past the end of the lock pawl 20, the pin 15 comes intoengagement with the lock pawl 20 as returned by the spring on the pivot2 a. The upper door 1 is locked, returning to the standby state.

Although the mechanism for opening and closing the shutter 63 of thecartridge 6 has been omitted from the foregoing description, thisopening-closing mechanism is provided within the holder 4 and is alreadyknown.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

The insertion of the cartridge 6 into the holder 4 turns the door 1 toexpose the opening of the holder 4 and further causes the kickout piece12 to lift the holder 4 against the force of the spring. When thecartridge 6 is further inserted and becomes released from the contactface, the contact face returns in such a direction as to close theopening. The holder 4 as lifted by the kickout piece 12 is releasedtherefrom, allowed descend, and closed by the spring.

Thus, the holder 4 is opened in the initial stage of insertion of thecartridge 6, and the holder 4 is closed after the insertion. In thisway, the cartridge 6 can be opposed to the turntable 7 on the chassis 5by the single manual movement of inserting the cartridge 6. This rendersthe apparatus usable more conveniently than conventionally.

What is claimed is:
 1. A device for accommodating a cartridge comprisinga holder having an opening for inserting the cartridge therethrough witha disk enclosed in the cartridge, and a chassis supporting a base end ofthe holder by a pivot and having a turntable mounted thereon, thecartridge accommodating device being characterized in that the holder isprovided with a spring at the base end thereof for biasing the holder ina closing direction, a door being pivoted to the holder at a free endthereof providing the opening, the door having a contact face positionedat a cartridge ejecting side of the pivot and inclined with respect tothe direction of insertion of the cartridge, and a kickout piecepositioned at a cartridge inserting side of the pivot and movable intocontact with the chassis when the holder is raised, the door beingbiased by a second spring in a direction for the contact face to closethe opening of the holder, the door being movable between an openedposition in which the contact face is pushed by the cartridge to exposethe opening of the holder when the cartridge is inserted, and thekickout piece pushes the chassis to lift the holder against the biasingforce of the spring and a closed position in which the contact facereturns in a direction to close the opening after the contact face isreleased from the cartridge as the cartridge is further inserted topermit descent of the holder.
 2. A cartridge accommodating deviceaccording to claim 1 wherein the chassis is provided with a positioningpin fittable in a rear end portion of the cartridge, and the holdercauses a lower surface of the cartridge to be positioned above thepositioning pin when the door is in the opened position.
 3. A cartridgeaccommodating device according to claim 1 wherein a slide piece pushableby the cartridge is provided on the holder and movable in the directionsof insertion and ejection of the cartridge, and the chassis beingprovided with a lift member engageable with the slide piece for raisingthe holder with the movement of the slide piece in the cartridgeinserting direction, and a lower surface of the cartridge is positionedabove the turntable when the holder is in an opened position in whichthe slide piece is in engagement with the lift member.
 4. A cartridgeaccommodating device according to claim 1 wherein the chassis isprovided with a friction reducing mechanism adapted to contact thekickout piece when the holder is in an opened position with the doorheld in its opened position to further open the door and move thecontact face away from an upper surface of the cartridge.
 5. A cartridgeaccommodating device according to claim 4 wherein the friction reducingmechanism comprises a vertical plate projecting from the chassis andmovable into the path of pivotal movement of the kickout piece to openthe door against the biasing force of the second spring.